Forest Knowledge Gateway
Forest restoration and integrative management.

The LIFEProForPES project evaluates EU-funded initiatives to identify effective approaches for sustaining forest ecosystem services (FES) and scaling successful practices across Europe. The current report analysed 108 Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and PES-like schemes using a Capital Asset Framework to assess project design, implementation arrangements, outcomes, and barriers to success.

The analysis combined data from previous Europe-funded projects, literature reviews, expert surveys, and interviews. PES outcomes were evaluated across human, social, natural, financial, and institutional capital, while also examining operational, institutional, and financial arrangements.

Results show that PES schemes mainly target regulating ecosystem services, especially water management. They have generated positive impacts on community engagement, employment, and environmental outcomes, but have had limited effects on household income. While local funding mechanisms are generally effective, European funding frameworks are often hindered by administrative complexity and bureaucratic requirements. Key challenges include financial constraints, limited stakeholder awareness, insufficient transparency, and weak community participation. At the same time, opportunities exist to strengthen public–private partnerships, improve governance, and harness new technologies. Overcoming these barriers is essential to enhance the long-term effectiveness and scalability of PES initiatives in Europe.

This article features the EU-Horizon project TRANSFORMIT and the Integrative Forest Management Indicators developed within the project. It explores how Integrative Forest Management can help forests meet multiple, often competing demands. This article was first published in Forestry & Energy, Ireland’s practitioner magazine for the forestry and energy sectors. 

Climate-smart rewilding could transform how Europe restores nature while tackling climate change. A new study presents a practical framework that brings together biodiversity recovery, carbon storage, climate adaptation and societal benefits, helping policymakers identify where rewilding can deliver the greatest impact. Using Europe as a case study, the researchers highlight opportunities to restore abandoned farmland, create ecological corridors that help wildlife adapt to a warming climate and support rural economies through nature-based tourism. At the same time, the framework explicitly addresses trade-offs, including wildfire risks, competing land uses and potential conflicts between recovering predators and livestock farming. Rather than promoting one-size-fits-all restoration, the approach emphasizes locally tailored solutions that balance ecological, climatic and social priorities. The framework provides a powerful decision-making tool for implementing ambitious biodiversity and climate targets while ensuring that restored ecosystems remain resilient, self-sustaining and beneficial for both people and nature.